In today’s rapidly changing environment, businesses must continue to address changes in their business needs through adjustments in their corresponding computer infrastructure. Packaged applications successfully automate many internal operations such as financial, manufacturing, and human resources tasks. However, these applications’ data formats and interface protocols may be proprietary and much of the applications’ functionality may not be accessible from any exposed Application Programming Interface (API). The consequence is isolation of these systems, loss of flexibility, and the inability to change at a later time.

When business systems need to share information and capabilities to operate efficiently or to expand to the web, integration problems surface. Businesses need a greater exchange of information with systems that communicate at both a database and a process level within the organization as well as with customers’ and suppliers’ systems. Businesses need to develop systems that are open, robust, and flexible to change while retaining the systems they have already purchased, developed, or inherited.